Sydney Writers’ Festival

Derek Mortimer with Nigerian writer/poet, Ben Okri, at the Sydney Writers’ Festival.

What a great event the Writers’ Festival is, perched on the edge of Sydney Harbour in the old timber wharves, under the shadow of the Bridge, listening to some of the world’s greatest contemporary writers, thinkers and journalists (not all of the latter share the same house as the universal self-seeking politicians), it sets the brain buzzing. Something became apparent at this event, the majority of the audiences were women, maybe two-thirds. Presumably more females than males read fiction. I have no idea why.